New York State voters disapprove 60 - 28 percent of the job Gov. David Paterson is doing, the
lowest approval ever for a New York Governor, and say 63 - 22 percent that he does not deserve
to be elected to a full four-year term, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Gov. Paterson's approval is so low that he should announce now that he won't run for
election to a four-year term next year, 53 percent of voters tell the independent Quinnipiac
(KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll, while 39 percent say he can restore his reputation and should
run next year. Even Democrats say 49 - 45 percent that he should drop out of the race now.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, with a near-record high 75 - 14
percent approval rating, tops Paterson in a Democratic primary 61 - 18 percent.

In a general election, Republican Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, tops
Paterson 53 - 32 percent.

Cuomo tops Giuliani 53 - 36 percent in a head-to-head matchup.

Voters disapprove 70 - 19 percent of the way Paterson is handling the New York State
budget. Democrats disapprove 63 - 25 percent.
"So long, David, voters tell Gov. Paterson. His job approval tanks at 28 percent. The
slide started with the Caroline Kennedy flap and deepened with the humongous state budget
passed last week. The budget was an opportunity for Paterson to reverse his slide, but voters
disapprove almost 4-1 of the way he handled it," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac
University Polling Institute.

"Don't wait for 2010, Governor, New Yorkers say. Announce now that you won't run.
Voters say almost 3-1 Paterson doesn't deserve a full 4-year term."

"There's nothing good for Paterson in this poll. Cuomo, who has minded his manners
during Paterson's collapse, saying nothing about the Governor, trounces Paterson in a theoretical
match-up. Giuliani whomps Paterson, too."

"This poll has nothing but good news for Cuomo. His job approval is stratospheric,
duplicating his 76 percent approval in February. And in election matchups, he leads Paterson
more than 3-1 and shows he's the Democrat who can beat Giuliani," Carroll said.

New York's newest U.S. Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, gets a 33 - 13 percent approval
rating, with 54 percent undecided. In fact, 64 percent of voters do not know enough about Sen.
Gilliband to form an opinion of her.

In a Democratic primary matchup, Gillibrand trails U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy 33 - 29
percent, with 33 percent undecided. Here, too, 68 percent do not know enough about McCarthy
to form an opinion.

"While watching Paterson's dive, voters aren't paying much attention to the Senate. Sen.
Gillibrand, the new kid, trails Congresswoman McCarthy in a Democratic match-up and leads
Congressman King in a general election. But the 'don't know' numbers are high for all three,"
Carroll said.

From April 1- 5, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,528 New York State registered voters,
with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points. The survey includes 664 Democrats with a
margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and
nationwide as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.

1. (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for Governor were
being held today and the candidates were David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo, for
whom would you vote?

20. Looking ahead to the 2010 election for Governor, do you feel that David
Paterson deserves to be elected to a full 4 year term, or do you feel that he
does not deserve to be elected to a full 4 year term?

41. Do you think Governor Paterson can restore his reputation and should run
for election next year for a full term as Governor or do you think his standing
in public opinion polls is so low that he should announce now that he won't run
for election?